ST. PAUL, Minn. — Marcus Johansson scored at 3:38 of overtime with the goal off its moorings and the Minnesota Wild overcame a last-second tying goal to beat the Nashville Predators 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Predators goalie Justus Annunen knocked the goal out of place as he backed up on a rush. Johansson's first shot hit the moving net and he got the puck back and slid it across the line. After a review, the goal was ruled good, infuriating the Nashville players and coaches.
Afterward, the NHL said: "The decision was made in accordance with Rule 63.7 which states 'In the event that the goal post is displaced, either deliberately or accidentally, by a defending player, prior to the puck crossing the goal line between the normal position of the goalposts, the referee may award a goal.
"In order to award a goal in this situation, the goal post must have been displaced by the actions of a defending player, the attacking player must have an imminent scoring opportunity prior to the goal post being displaced, and it must be determined that the puck would have entered the net between the normal position of the goal posts.”
Predators coach Andrew Brunette, however, didn't see things the same way.
"The explanation was, in (the referee's) opinion, it was a goal. I disagree with his opinion, but that's the way it is," he said, per Brooks Bratten, a beat reporter for the Predators.
Brunette also was asked if he felt Annunen intentionally knocked the net off.
"No, I don't think just by the physics of pushing, I don't think that was what he was trying to do," he said. "I thought they'd miss the net. If the net didn't dislodge, it wouldn't have ended up being in the net. Unfortunately, they didn't see it the same way and you move on."
However, it might not be as easy for Predators forward Michael McCarron to move on.
“I don’t know how the ref can stand there with a straight face and call it a goal, and then they call Toronto, and they still decide to call it a goal. I mean, I’m dumbfounded. I feel like we got screwed tonight," he said, per Michael Russo of The Athletic.
Steven Stamkos tied it for Nashville with 0.3 seconds left in regulation and Annunen off for an extra attacker, beating the clock and goalie Filip Gustavsson with a one-timer from the left side. Defenseman Nick Blankenburg kept the puck in at the blue line and got the puck to Stamkos for his second goal of the season and 584th overall.
Minnesota closed a six-game homestand with consecutive victories after dropping the first four. Kirill Kaprizov and Zeev Buium scored power-play goals for the Wild, and Gustavsson made 32 saves.
Matthew Wood also scored for weary Nashville, with the Predators coming off a 5-4 overtime loss to Vancouver at home Monday night. Annunen stopped 22 shots in his third game of season.
Buium gave Minnesota a 2-1 lead with 4:01 left in the second, deflecting fellow defenceman Brock Faber's feed from the point past Annunen — with Stamkos sitting for slashing Matt Boldy.
Kaprizov opened the scoring on a power play midway through the first period, firing a wrist shot from between the top of the circles for his eighth goal of the season. The Wild got the man advantage when Michael Bunting was sent off for elbowing Buium.
Wood tied it on a tip at 5:16 of the second off a Minnesota turnover.
Up next
Predators: Host Philadelphia on Thursday night.
Wild: At Carolina on Thursday night.
— with files from Sportsnet
